Sunday, October 21, 2007

The Uncommon Reader

Once upon a time the Queen of England was walking her dogs in the BuckinghamPalace gardens when they took an interest in the bookmobile parked behind the palace kitchens.When the dogs refused to come back to her, Queen Elizabeth went to retrieve them and decided to borrow a book from the mobile library just to be polite.Before she knew it, one book led to another, and the good Queen became an avid reader and lived happily ever after.

Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader is a laugh-out-loud novella that does indeed read like a fairy tale at times but the little book packs a lot into its 120 pages.Avid readers will recognize themselves in Queen Elizabeth as she exercises her “reading muscle” and progresses from reading anything suggested to her by others to falling in love with “new” authors and more serious literature.They also will recognize the reactions of the Queen’s family and staff who are somewhat bewildered to find that she carries a book with her wherever she goes and has lost interest in many of the things that previously kept her busy.Not only do they not understand her new love of reading, they come to resent her for it, and some even suspect that she is showing the first signs of senility.

Her move along the road to a new sensibility and self-awareness allows Elizabeth to make some observations that are guaranteed to put smiles on the faces of book lovers.At a reception in Canada, for instance, she remarks to one Canadian minister, “Can there be any greater pleasure than to come across an author one enjoys and then to find they have written not just one book or two, but at least a dozen.”

On another occasion, when being briefed by a befuddled member of her staff who does not understand why she suddenly prefers reading to his briefings, she tells him that “…briefing is not reading.In fact, it is the antithesis of reading.Briefing is terse, factual and to the point.Reading is untidy, discursive and perpetually inviting.Briefing closes down a subject, reading opens it up.”

For a while, the sheer joy of reading is enough for Elizabeth as she begins to regard the world and those around her with a new empathetic understanding.But, as her self-awareness continues to grow, she comes to believe that she is meant to be not only a reader but also a writer.That is the twist that leads to Alan Bennett’s unexpected, but perfect, ending to his charming little tale.This one will be special to book lovers everywhere.

Poppycock. The Queen is an intelligent and educated woman, and is no doubt better read than the vast majority of English-speaking world. Not to mention that neither she nor her dogs would ever come into contact with a bookmobile. How can one get over such glaring improbabilities?

I had no problem with that, Sylvia, because it's written in such a way as to be an obvious fairy tale kind of thing. It doesn't really make the Queen appear to be all that foolish. I saw her as a very sympathetic character, in fact.

Sam, I'm glad you liked this also. It's funny that we both highlighted the same quote. I've just gone on to read The Clothes They Stood Up In, another Bennett novella. I recommend it, if you haven't already read it.

This is such a beautifully subversive book - it brutally stabs the English establishment but is the best piece of advocacy for Her Majesty in years. It is clever, beautifully written, funny, enticing and has the best last page twist since Jeannette Winterson's Written on the Body. Do yourself a favour....

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Favorite Quote of the Moment

"Within arm's reach were so many sublime minds - she could awaken them off the shelf (no matter the hour, they were more alert than she), bid them start, and encounter a soul fitted with perceptions like hers, only sharper. - Tooly of The Rise & Fall of Great Powers, page 44, as she opens the door of her bookshop in the middle of the night